NEW YORK — The pressure to win during the 2014 Sochi Olympics is nearly as intense for marketers as it is for the athletes themselves.

Just like there are medals handed out during the Games, there are winners and losers in advertising.

It’s a huge stage for marketers. Companies pay as much as $100 million for exclusive rights to sponsor Olympic teams, while others shell out tens of thousands hoping to score gold by backing individual athletes. The catch? Advertisers’ fates are often tied to external factors.

There were a number of distractions this year due to controversy over security, gay- rights laws and Olympic preparedness in Sochi. But fortunately for many U.S. sponsors, those things were overshadowed by the athletic prowess of the nation’s Olympic athletes.

Still, the best advertisers find ways to connect even when their athletes underperform. The advertising winners this year managed to both harness the feel-good nature of the Olympics and convey a message about their products.

“Marketers have to be ready to capitalize on a good performance, but you still have to plan for a mediocre showing” from sponsored athletes, said Tim Calkins, marketing professor at the Kellogg School of Business in Northwestern.

Medal winners

Procter & Gamble: A longtime Olympic sponsor, the consumer-products giant won points early with its feel-good ad “Pick Them Back Up.” The spot is a part of its popular “Thank You Mom” campaign that shows moms supporting young athletes when they fall.

Since P&G debuted the ad online before the Olympics began, the spot has been viewed 18 million times on YouTube. And Ace Metrix, which measures the effectiveness of ads, has ranked it the most effective Olympic ad.

Visa: Another top Olympic sponsor, the payments company focused on responding to many events real time on social media. It helps that Visa sponsored 37 Olympians and Paralympians, including gold medalists ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White and skier David Wise.

Visa was able to respond quickly on Facebook when its athletes won gold medals, and that paid off.

“What they’ve been posting on Facebook has been well-timed and gained traction,” said Debra Aho Williamson, principal analyst of social media at research firm eMarketer.

Off the medal stand

Under Armour: Unpredictability is what the Olympics are all about. That can work in a brand’s favor if an underdog sponsored athlete suddenly wins gold. But there’s another side to this.

The athletic wear company spent years developing a high-tech suit for the U.S. speedskating team, which was heavily favored coming into the competition. But then the team failed to medal, and worse, some blamed the Under Armour suit.

It is not clear the suit had anything to do with the team’s performance, and some experts say the flap likely won’t hurt domestic sales of its core products like shoes and T-shirts. But it was a blow to the brand because it came in front of a global audience right at the time when Under Armour is seeking to expand internationally.

“It was an opportunity for them to shine on the Olympic stage, and they fell,” said branding expert Laura Ries.

McDonald’s: The burger chain was limping out of the gate from the start. Before the Games began, McDonald’s tried to introduce a seemingly innocuous hashtag on Twitter, #CheerstoSochi. Getting a hashtag to go viral is a marketers’ ultimate goal, since it is basically free publicity.

But the hashtag was picked up by activists in tweets condemning the Russian gay- rights limitations and assailing McDonald’s for not speaking out forcibly against it. Next, none of its three sponsored athletes, including speedskater favorite Shani Davis, managed to get a medal.

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